


The Beta Wolf

by elinorofealdor



Series: New for Us Both [5]
Category: Wallander (UK TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Long-Term Relationship(s), Past Violence, Plotty, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 10:22:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5001088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elinorofealdor/pseuds/elinorofealdor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus and Emilia have been together just over six months. Kirksten is in prison, their relationship is out in the open and progressing well. Then, the threats of the past invade the present and this time Emilia may not be the only one being stalked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The detective paced in front of Emilia from across the table. His partner had left the room a few minutes ago, promising to return with coffee, which Emilia had declined. He’d left anyway.   
“Can we go through this one more time?” Impatience curled off him and Emilia mused that if this was part of the routine for them, they weren’t used to dealing with those who actually had law enforcement for family. Yes, she had been difficult since she set foot in the precinct, but she had reason for it.   
In addition to taking her from her seldom-used business office and straight here -- an almost hour drive to Trelleborg, as opposed to the Ystad offices like she’d requested, they had given her little information of why she was being questioned, by detectives from another city no less. After confirming she was not under arrest, she’d given few answers and most of what she had given them was purposely vague. Whatever happened, or was happening, she was key to it somehow and her reluctance to assist had driven the detectives to aggravation.  
“Tell me what the hell I’m doing here, and why you dragged me to your town rather than keeping things in Ystad, and maybe I’ll tell you something more.” Emilia’s aggravation made the detective perk up.   
“You know this isn’t an ‘information for information’ kind of arrangement. However, if you go over this one more time I might be able to--”  
“Avoid being sued for false imprisonment and kidnapping?” She spat.  
“That is not -- You know perfectly well this is legal, and for your own safety.”  
“Legal, yes,” she huffed. “for about another hour. Ethical, definitely not. And you’ve told me nothing about why you need me or what I’m doing here so I only have your word it’s for my safety which frankly means nothing to me.”  
“Miss Reindahl--”  
He was interrupted by a sharp voice echoing down the corridor.  
“Where is she?!” The voice demanded, and Emilia repressed a smile.  
“You might want to release me before he goes banging on every door in the place,” Emilia said quietly.  
The detective had turned to the door at the sound and now looked back to her. “Friend of yours.”  
She nodded.  
“The same friend you were staying with last night?”  
“Yes,” she confirmed. The detective relaxed until halfway through her next words when his eyes grew wide. “Detective Magnus Martinsson. Ystad police. My boyfriend.”  
“Your-- shit,” he sighed. He reached for the door just as it clicked open. His partner stood there, coffee dribbling down his jacket and shirt, looking like a kid who fell into a dry pool when he was expecting it to be full of jello.   
“Miss Reindahl,” Jann, the partner, said. “You’re free to go.”  
Voices echoed down the corridor. Two of them she did not recognize, the ones trying to soothe and placate. The other she did. Magnus, wherever he was, had fallen silent, but Kurt was raising hell. Emilia rose and brushed past the detectives, given neither of them so much as a glance. When she emerged from the narrow hallway into the main area of the station, the scene made her smile. Magnus stood with his hands on his hips, his looks shooting daggers at the officers trying to calm Kurt who presently railed about the jurisdiction of the case, not to mention bringing the victim to another city without revealing why. Realizing she was the victim caused Emilia’s smile to vanish and she had to pause a second to regain herself before stepping toward the group.  
“Looks like the cavalry’s arrived,” she said with as much cheer as she could muster. She had only made it a few more steps before Magnus was in front of her, having almost leapt a desk to reach her. Kurt had paused in his ranting just long enough to give Emilia a familiar nod, then resumed berating the officers.  
“Are you alright?” Magnus asked, taking her hand in his. He gave it a gentle squeeze and she brought her thumb up to the back of his hand to return the squeeze.  
“Better now you’re here. Maybe you can tell me what the hell is going on.”  
“They really didn’t tell you?”  
She shook her head. “Magnus--”  
Her words were cut off by him pulling her into his arms. He held her firm, tight, his heart beating against her chest. She wrapped her arms around him and returned his embrace briefly before slipping back. “What is it?”  
“It’s -- Mia I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to make of it, but--” He licked his lips and paused, looking over her head. “You,” he snarled.   
Emilia looked back to see the detective without coffee dripping from his tie emerging from the hallway.  
“Magnus,” she said, turning back to him. “Please, just tell me.”  
He looked back to her and softened his gaze. “There’ve been four murders here this month. Young women, all of them. Violent kills and --” he sighed, taking her hand again. “And a wolf mask left at the last one.”  
The world around her shattered. She almost stumbled back but Magnus placed a steadying hand on her hip. He looked up again at the other detective who had frozen in the doorway leading out of the hall.   
“Tell her,” he commanded.  
The detective shuffled forward. “We were going to. When we’d gotten a clear timeline of your whereabouts the past week--”  
“You couldn’t have led with, ‘there’s a copycat out there killing women the same way one tried to kill you,’ by any chance? Might’ve been more cooperative.”  
“That information hasn’t been revealed yet. It’s classified.”  
“Even to the victims of the previous crime?”  
“Honestly, Miss Reindahl, all we wanted was a clear statement of your comings and goings the last week. Then we would have told you -- what do you mean victims? You’re the only one who… survived.”  
“No.” She stated. “I’m not.”  
Magnus’ arms slid around her waist. “Mia, don’t.”  
She continued, ignoring him. “Officers wounded in the line of duty don’t count in your book? Or is it because I fit the pattern, and Kirksten didn’t get his claws all the way into me, that you decide to cowboy up and whisk me away to the very place someone’s trying to duplicate his crimes?”  
Her voice had risen, and she found herself trembling. Magnus moved in closer, pressing against her back.   
“Emilia.” He said her name in a firm yet compassionate tone, as a complete thought with no command or coax in his voice. She closed her eyes. She felt his heart against her shoulder, pounding in a frantic rhythm close to her own, but his hold on her was steady, comforting. She imagined his lips brushing the top of her head and she stilled. It wasn’t her imagination, she realized as his lips pressed more firmly.   
As she opened her eyes, she heard footsteps behind her and realized the other raised voices had ceased.   
“Come on,” Kurt said. “Time to get you home.”  
The detective in front of her stepped forward. Magnus’ arm tightened around her and Kurt moved between her and the detective. “When your superiors sort out this mess you’ve created, you may be allowed to come back to Ystad and ask her a few questions. Maybe. Until and unless that happens, you stay the hell away from my niece.”  
The arm around her waist shifted and Magnus took her hand, leading her away. Emilia cast her head down, not wanting to see anything more of the Trelleborg station. She followed Magnus out to the parking lot where he headed for Kurt’s car. Kurt followed close on their heels. When he unlocked the doors, Magnus opened the rear passenger door for Emilia and she slid in. He then went around to the other side and climbed in behind Kurt as the car started. She buckled herself in and looked out the window, staring far beyond the grey misted lot.


	2. Chapter 2

Once on the road back to Ystad, Magnus reached over and brushed his fingers along the back of her hand.   
“Thank you,” she said quietly, not turning. “Both of you.”  
Magnus said nothing but she knew he nodded his reply.   
“This is a right bloody mess,” Kurt remarked. “I’m sorry you’re in the middle of it. Again.”  
“Is there more?” Neither replied. “That bad, huh?”  
“We’ll wait until you’re home,” Kurt replied. “Well, until you’re--”  
“Stay with me,” Magnus cut in. “Please. At least for a couple days.”  
“What happened?”  
“Emilia, we should wait until--”  
“Are you sure you want to know now?” Magnus again cut Kurt off, and Kurt huffed. “She deserves to know,” Magnus snapped. “It is her life.”  
“In the car?” Kurt fired back.  
Emilia turned her head, shooting a look to her uncle via the rearview mirror. “What, were going to break it to me over a nice dinner? Watch me break down in public? Or were you hoping I’d hold it together in front of other people?” She looked to Magnus. “Or were you going to wait until I’m under house arrest at your place and you can both tower over me as you explain the details and try to console the poor, broken girl?”  
“You know that’s not -- I wouldn’t do it like that,” Magnus replied. His calm had been shaken and as Emilia looked back out the window, his hand clasped hers. She wanted to be in his arms. She wanted to know what the hell was happening. More than anything she wanted to have a life once again where being stalked as potential prey for a serial killer was only something she’d read or write about as fiction.   
“We don’t have everything yet,” Magnus said softly. “They’ve been very tight on their investigation so far, and until yesterday they didn’t think it was connected to anything else. The mask, though… it would have been enough on its own.”  
“What else?” The words escaped her in a single breath of desperation, wishing she was currently capable of compartmentalizing her thoughts and emotions.  
“There was a note, inside the mask. It’s at their lab being analyzed right now so we couldn’t read it, but they’re sending a copy to the station in Ystad. It’s -- it names you, specifically.”  
“That’s why they came for me. An ill conceived attempt both to protect me and see if I knew anything.”  
“Yeah,” Magnus replied. The dejection in his tone made her ache even more to be warmed by his embrace, and to soothe him as well. He could play the part of supportive boyfriend without the need to be a hero, but deep within she knew his anger at all this stemmed from far more than his woman being hauled across towns without her consent or being told why. He needed to know she felt secure as much as she needed to feel secure at his side.  
Her eyes scanned the landscape as it rushed by. After a moment further of silence, Kurt sighed with a touch of a groan. “We don’t know enough about all this to take any risks. It has to be assumed he knows more than just your name. If he knows where you live, Mia, he may know about Magnus. It isn’t safe for either of you to go home.”  
Emilia turned her gaze to Magnus once more, hit with a sudden pang. “Did the note say anything about you?”  
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. They didn’t mention it. We’ll see, I suppose.”  
“So where do we go?”  
“Hotel, at least for now,” Kurt replied.  
“I can’t just hole up without my computer, my books and notes, clothes--”  
“I know,” Kurt interjected. “We’ll get a list together, from both of you, once you’re settled into your rooms. I’ll go ‘round with someone and get your things.”  
“Rooms?” Emilia glanced back to Kurt, who nodded.  
“It’s procedure,” Magnus replied, the chill in his tone almost as maddening as the dejection.  
Her head dropped, gaze catching Magnus’ hand resting on hers. “I see.”  
The rest of the drive back to Ystad was silent. Kurt pulled up to the Continental and all emerged from the car still in silence. They fell into sandwich mode, Kurt in front and Magnus behind with Emilia in between them. After Kurt checked them in under assumed names, he handed them their keys.   
“Upstairs, down the hall on the left. You’re across from one another in corner rooms. I’ll ring the station to check in. Get those lists made and come back down for dinner shortly, yeah?”  
Both nodded and Emilia went for her room straightaway while Magnus lingered a moment near Kurt.  
“I can’t hide from her, Kurt. Not now. Not again.”  
“I know,” Kurt replied, solemn.  
“You can’t keep me off the case.”  
“I can’t, but others can. And will.”  
“Kurt--”  
“You’re a victim too, Magnus. She knows it. We all know it. Emilia may be the direct target, but Kirksten tried to kill you as well. We can’t be sure of anything right now except that both of you are in danger. I brought you along today because I know you can calm her, and I knew I might need someone to stop me in case -- The way they handled this -- Jesus, what else aren’t they telling us.”  
“I need to work this, Kurt.”  
Kurt turned to face him, his gaze one of eerie calm, nearing threat. “You need to look after yourself, and after your girlfriend. You need one another now more than you need to be at the station. Soon as I can tell either of you anything I will, I promise. But you have to wrap your mind around the idea that protecting you is as much a priority for the station as protecting her. Stay here. Stay safe. And try not to let this destroy your relationship. You need each other, and not just for mutual comfort and understanding, yes?”  
Magnus swallowed hard, eyes downcast, and nodded. “What do I do?”  
“Right now, you do what I’ve asked. Go see your room. Get a list of anything you need from your place. Meet me down here for dinner.”  
Magnus shuffled away, dragging his feet upstairs until he reached the hallway. He became alert then, watchful, as he made his way down to his room. He slipped the keycard in, opened the door, took a brief look inside, then closed it. Turning back to face the door across the hall, he steeled himself. He strode over the few steps and knocked on the door. It opened a few seconds later.   
Tears streamed down Emilia’s face; standing before him he glimpsed her raw vulnerability. He wanted to remain stoic, but her trembling hand on the doorframe, her entire bearing, caused such an ache in his chest that tears welled in his eyes, too. She stepped back from the door and he entered, closing it behind him, his gaze never leaving her. He pulled her into his arms and lifted her, before leading her over to the chaise alongside a curtained window and sitting beside her. He held her firm in his arms, and she returned his embrace, tears dampening the shoulder of his shirt. He kissed the side of her head and felt his own tears slip down his cheeks.   
“They’ll find him,” he managed after a minute of clinging to one another. “We’ll be alright.”  
“I don’t know if I can do all this again,” she said before gasping back a sob.  
“You can, love. I know you can. We can. Together.”  
She broke, pulling back from him. “Magnus, I can’t -- we can’t --”  
“Please don’t. Not now.”  
She shook her head. “I’m not trying to argue or... I just -- I know it’s stress and desperation, and definitely a lot of blind panic, but I don’t know how to do this without -- without--”  
She broke again and Magnus let her calm herself, smoothing a hand along her back, then up through her hair before cupping her face. As her breathing steadied, she looked up at him.   
“I need you, Magnus. I need to be with you. But more than that I need you to be safe. If anything happens to you--” She stopped herself, tears welling again.   
“I know, darling. I do. We can handle ourselves. We’ve shown that already. But I don’t see the need to keep close, to protect each other, as clingy. You must know I feel the same about you. I love you, Emilia. Every bit of your independent, stubborn, weakness-fearing self. And I know you love me. Being vulnerable and needing to protect me… I feel that, too. The conflict of it. But we have each other, yes? We’re together this time, properly.”  
She nodded.   
“I’m not on the case,” he sighed.   
“I didn’t think they would--”  
“I know. Neither did I. I just had to say it. So you know we’re equals this time. It’s not my job to protect you, or you me. It is my privilege and my desire.”  
“And mine,” she said softly. In a slow breath she shifted closer to him again. Her lips brushed his with a sigh. “I love you, Magnus. And you’re right. I resent myself for all this conflict, and for bringing this mess back into your life. But it’s not you. It’s not us.”   
She slumped back against the couch. “Maybe I should have seen that therapist after last time. I just thought -- I thought it was over.”  
He rubbed a hand along her leg, just above the knee. “So did I.”  
They exchanged a silent look before he leaned in to kiss her.   
“We should probably make those lists,” she murmured after a moment of being lost in each other’s touch.  
“Mmmm,” Magnus agreed, before pulling her close for one more reassuring embrace.   
They compiled their lists on hotel stationary, Magnus snapping a pic of each with his phone as Emilia washed her face and braided her hair, before descending to the dining room. Kurt was seated at a table, scribbling notes on a hotel stationery pad. He glanced up as Magnus pulled a chair out for Emilia across from Kurt, then settled between them on Emilia’s right. He handed the lists to Kurt, who took them, glanced at them, then folded the sheets and slipped them in his jacket pocket.   
“I’m still waiting to hear about copies of the letter, but once we have it, I’ll tell you what I can. Same with anything else that comes up. Emilia, I won’t hold back from you this time and Magnus, you know we’ll put all the resources we can on this. We’ll do everything we can to sort this quickly and keep both of you safe. You have my word.”  
“Thank you, uncle,” Emilia smiled. “ Do you think they’ll want to question us more?”  
“Depends on the letter, and what else they have up until now, how it could relate to you now we know what his goal’s been all along. Probably. But if he really is targeting you, then it’s our case. No one outside the station will know where you two are, and we’ll keep even that limited. Any interviews will be conducted in our station.”  
“Will they let you stay on it?” Magnus asked. “Because of, you know…” He looked to Emilia and back to Kurt.   
“It was my case before. She’s as much my niece now as then, so they can try if they like but I’m not moving from it. Besides, if they forbid anyone who has a personal connection to the case from working it, the whole station would be barred this time.”  
His pointed look to Magnus made Emilia smile. She didn’t want to have to be the only one reminding Magnus of his status.   
“What’ll be different this time?” Emilia placed a hand on the table, close to where Magnus had rested one of his. “Aside from not being home, and there being two of us now?”  
A waiter approached them and took orders for drinks, leaving them menus. Emilia looked to Kurt, apprehensive, after the waiter left.   
“Let’s order first,” he pressed. “Keep things moving along normal as possible for now.”  
They all glanced over the menus. Emilia stilled while Magnus ran a hand through his hair then began to tap his foot on the floor. She placed her hand over his and in a few seconds he stilled as well. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and he clasped his thumb over hers. The waiter returned with drinks and all ordered, after which Magnus eased his hand out from beneath Emilia’s and took a sip of his beer.   
“Will we get detail from their squad or ours?” Magnus asked as he set his glass back down.   
“Something we’ll have to work out. I’ll vet them all, though. Lisa, too. We’ll be sure you’re safe.”  
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”  
Emilia had taken a long sip of her wine during this exchange and set her glass down. Both men looked to her. “What?”  
Magnus’ gaze flickered down to where Emilia’s free hand rested on his thigh, then back to her.   
“Pardon my dinner manners, but I don’t give a fuck about that. I’m not hiding again. Ystad knows about us. After today’s display so does Trelleborg. And anyway, as Magnus is under protective custody this time, too, what does it matter?”  
Kurt edged closer by leaning a bit on the table. “Married couples are one thing, but for others it’s… not always as lenient.”   
“See above, re: fuck that,” Emilia stated with an eerie calm. “They can put us in separate rooms if that’s best for protocol, but you let him live in my house for over three weeks to protect me and nothing untoward happened. We weren’t a couple. We are now, and I’ll be damned if I let some procedural bullshit keep me from continuing to engage in my relationship, in our relationship, like a normal fucking human being.”  
“Kurt, I don’t want to push things,” Magnus tried, “but she has a point. It may be a very grey area where regulations are concerned, but they can’t flat out keep us from seeing each other, not legally. And it’s not going to help the situation any trying to separate us. Trelleborg’s already overstepped and they know it. And our people can’t justifiably back up separating us when they’re part of the reason we’re here now.”  
“But it still concerns you.” Kurt said, easing back in his chair.  
“Of course it does,” Magnus replied. “We’re on edge enough as it is, all of us. Trying to drive a wedge between Mia and I, between any of us, is not going to help the case or anything at all, really. I need you to understand that, because someone’s going to likely have to speak for us if they try anything.”  
Magnus took Emilia’s hand and brought it back up on the table, keeping hold of it. “And I’ll be fucked before I let anyone dictate how to conduct my own relationships.”  
Kurt looked from one to the other of the pair of them, then reached for his coffee and took a swig. “Well, that’s that part out of the way. Now, let’s talk about more practical details.”  
The three of them talked and ate, working over what Kurt would likely be able to share with them while the investigation continued, and strategizing with what they knew so far. Near the end of their meal, Kurt got the call that the letter had been received at the station.   
“I’ll head over, read it, call you with what I can. After that I’ll take someone along with me to your places and I’ll bring things back. Magnus, can I have your key?”  
As Magnus worked to detach his flat key from his ring, Emilia shifted in her seat.   
“Kurt, I don’t want to be difficult, well, more than normal, but… can I ask to not have some patrolman digging through my stuff? The list is pretty clear, but it’s -- personal.”  
“I’ll get Anne-Britt to go. If she can’t I’ll take Linda.”  
“You don’t have to ask her to--”  
“No, but I will.” Magnus handed Kurt his key and he slipped it in his pocket. “Magnus is right. This works best if we all feel as secure as possible. There are a lot of regulations in place that will help us, keep you safe, but others we can ignore for now and deal with the consequences later.”  
Without further word, he dropped a stack of bills on the table and left, with Emilia and Magnus offering their thanks. He nodded a final acknowledgment, then exited the restaurant.


	3. Chapter 3

Magnus shifted his chair a bit closer to Emilia’s. “I know you’re exhausted. You must be. And so am I. We’re going to be spending a lot of time, most of it probably aggravated, around each other. So I understand if tonight you want to settle in, be alone. Might do us good.”  
She eyed him briefly before replying. “Is this your polite way of saying you need some time to yourself?”  
“No. When I need it, I’ll tell you. I hope you’re comfortable doing the same.”  
“And if I don’t want to be alone tonight?”  
“I think your room has the bigger bed.”  
Her smile warmed his chest. “I love you. And I may be saying it a lot because I’m not sure I’m showing it enough, or properly. But I do, Magnus.”  
“I know, darling.” He leaned in and she shifted closer to meet his lips.   
“I could use a bath,” she sighed as they parted. “You?”  
He nodded. “Shall we see if your tub is big enough?”  
It was. Though not overly spacious, it allowed enough room for the two of them to soak, Emilia pressed back against Magnus’ chest, before they attentively washed one another, using their hands more to smooth and massage over parts that in an effort to clean, but the effect brought them both a bit more calm.   
With a towel wrapped around his waist and Emilia in a hotel robe, they settled back on the chaise together, stretched out much like they had been in the tub. Magnus parted the curtain on the window a bit. The streets lights illuminated the road and stretched to the water beyond as the sky faded into a darkening grey.   
“You think we’ll be able to get another vacation out of this?”  
Magnus chuckled, his chest rising and falling against her back. “Let’s hope so. I’d say we can treat this like one, but I know that won’t happen.”  
“Mmmmm,” she agreed. She leaned her head back to rest against his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.   
His phone buzzed on a table across the room. “And the case intervenes.”  
“I have a feeling there’s going to be more of that this time,” Emilia muttered as they shifted so Magnus could rise. He nodded before moving to the table and snagging his phone.  
“Martinsson… yeah. Hold on.” He moved the phone and put it on speaker. Emilia had risen and moved to his side. He wrapped an arm around her waist as Kurt’s voice piped through the speakers.  
“Well, it’s not the best news.”  
“Didn’t think it would be,” Emilia stated.   
There was a nervous laugh. “Too right. I can’t read you the whole thing, but the basics is it’s a copycat, some admirer of Kirksten, for whatever reason, and he started his own wave basically to prepare for finishing what Kirksten couldn’t.”  
“Anything actually useful?” Magnus huffed.  
“There’s some details in his writing style, and knowing now what his motive has been the whole time should help in the profile. We’re going to have to go back over everything from Kirksten, for patterns and all, but really this guy seems to be gunning for Mia.”  
“No mention of Magnus?” Emilia said, her voice almost trembling.  
“He did make reference to not making Kirksten’s mistakes when he gets close enough to you. He may simply mean it as a threat to anyone getting between you and him, but we can’t rule out that he means specifically Magnus. He may be following Kirksten’s pattern up until you, but from there on… we just don’t know. Yet. Regardless, what’s important is that we get you both somewhere safe.”  
“We’re not staying here?”   
Magnus’ arm tightened around her waist.  
“Lisa and I are trying to get arrangements for you both to be moved to somewhere more secure. A house or something. We’d move you out of town, but we don't want to bait him somewhere unfamiliar to us.”  
There was a heavy pause before Emilia enquired, “Can I request some place with a decent kitchen?”  
Magnus chuckled, and Kurt huffed, but it didn’t sound frustrated.   
“I’ll see what I can manage,” Kurt replied. “For now I’m leaving Lisa with the details of that and arranging things with Trelleborg while Linda and I get your things. Oh, and they’ll be bringing your phone back to our station tomorrow, Mia. We’ll have to bring you both in for some inquiries and debriefing, so I’ll make sure you get it then.”  
“Alright,” she sighed.  
“What about tonight?” Magnus piped in.  
“I’ll stay in the hotel tonight. I don’t want someone else on detail until we’ve gotten things a bit more sorted.”  
“You can stay in my room. I won’t need it.”  
“You shouldn’t have told--”  
“No point in the department spending the money on an extra room when it’s not necessary. I’m staying with Mia tonight. Anyone takes issue with that they can lecture me after the killer’s caught.”  
There was a pause before Kurt replied. “Fine. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way there.”  
“Anything else?” Mia asked.  
“Not at the moment. I’ll see you both soon.”  
“Ok,” they both chimed, and Magnus picked up the phone, and ended the call. He set the phone down, then wrapped his arm around high on Emilia’s chest, hugging her close against his chest. “Single dwelling, with a kitchen. We could do worse.”  
“I can only do hotel living for so long.”  
“I remember,” he smiled, leaning his head down to nuzzle her neck. “Those last couple days in Germany.”  
She shifted in his arms to face him, kissing his cheek before replying, “Why do you deal with my difficult self?”  
“You mean aside from the fact that you deal with me, and that I’m utterly and passionately in love with you?”  
“Yeah.”  
He gazed at her for a moment, shifting a hand to run along the side of her head, fingers stroking lightly behind one ear. “You know how we don’t talk much about our past relationships?”  
She nodded.  
“Now might be the time to start. At least in terms of how they’ve affected us.”  
She sighed. “I didn’t want to broach that yet, but I have been thinking about it recently. We’re past six months. I suppose it’s probably time to dig even deeper into one another. If you still want--”  
“I want, darling. I want very much. All of it.”  
“And you’re not afraid to share, too?”  
He gave a small huff of laughter. “I didn’t say that. But if we can stick together through this, I’m fairly certain that shit relationships of the past aren’t going to tear us apart. Not if we assess the issues carried in to our relationship.”  
She reach up and ran her fingers through his curls. “You know, you are really good at hitting the deeper parts of me.”  
He grinned and she flinched before releasing her own huff. “You know I didn’t mean -- well, that part is rather obvious. I meant--”  
“I know what you meant. Chalk it up to my interrogation and grief counseling courses actually being of some use.”  
“It’s not just that, and you know it. You pull out the bad in me, Magnus. The dark and the weird and the reclusive. You pick out these little pieces of things I hate about myself and you look at them and see through and around them, and somehow you slip them back inside so as not to take away anything that makes me who I am, but when you do, it’s better. I’m better.”  
“Mia,” he sighed as he pulled her close again, noses almost touching.  
“I just want it to be the same for you.”  
He moved his other arm to cup her face in both of his hands. “It is, love. It always has been. You save me everyday, Mia. I want to know you better because I want all of you to infuse me, to infuse us. Whatever history you have, I want it to be able to make us stronger, bring us closer. But I don’t want either of us to feel we have to open up more to be complete as a couple. We already are. Everything else is just…”   
“Strengthening?” She tried.  
“Yeah,” he nodded, the tip of his nose brushing hers. He tilted his head and brought their lips together. Her fingers slid to his neck and her other hand wrapped around his waist. For a moment they were lost in a kiss, then Emilia’s hand slipped beneath his towel and it dropped to the floor. She giggled, giving the top of his cheek a playful squeeze before they broke apart.   
“This is probably not a good way for anyone to find us,” she said as her laughter faded. Magnus blushed, a grin spreading across his face as he bent to pick up the towel. “And as pleasant a distraction as it is,” she continued as he stood, flinging the towel over his shoulder, “I’m not sure it’s the best use of our time to indulge in.”  
Magnus’ smile faded to a devious look. He swooped the towel around her waist and grabbed both ends, pulling her flush against his skin. “Says who?”  
She licked her lips as she challenged his gaze. “Still insatiable? Check.”  
He dove in for a penetrating kiss, then casually stepped back, releasing her and striding to the bathroom, whistling. “I’ll just get our clothes then,” he smiled over his shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

Once dressed, Emilia curled up in a chair as Magnus flopped down on the bed. He lay on his back for a few moments while Emilia picked up the pad of stationery and began scribbling away. Magnus shifted up onto his elbows to watch her and was about to speak when his phone buzzed again. He got off the bed and went to it, Emilia stopping her writing as he picked up the phone.   
“It’s from Linda,” he said, swiping his screen open. “Shit.”  
Emilia set the pad on a side table and moved to him. “What is it?”  
Magnus turned and held the phone toward her, screen facing her gaze.   
“Shit,” she echoed. Magnus glanced around the room for the TV remote as Emilia took the phone from him. It lay on a stand beside the bed. He snagged it and turned on the TV, scanning through channels until he found local news. He came back to Emilia’s side, the two of them silent for a moment as the scene unfolded.   
“How the fuck did this happen?” Emilia asked.  
“There’s a leak,” Magnus almost growled.  
“Clearly.”  
Several news vans could be seen behind the current reporter as camera lights illuminated Emilia’s neighborhood. The message from Linda had been a photo from outside Emilia’s office window with the note: got out just in time.   
While they weren’t filming her house specifically, they were filming along the sidewalk within sight of it. The reporter on this station rattled on about the hunt for a serial murderer following the pattern of Kirksten who started on Trelleborg but was not believed to be heading for Ystad. The reporter remarked on the surviving victim of the Kirksten’s spree, whereabouts unknown, and Emilia felt her knees weaken just as Magnus wrapped an arm around her.   
“Would you think less of me if I just collapsed into a heap and started spewing expletives right now?”  
“I’m about there myself,” Magnus replied.   
“What do we do?”  
“Stay together.”  
She moved her arm over his and clasped his wrist with her fingers. He shifted forward to press against her and they both sighed. Magnus raised the hand with the remote.   
“Wait,” Emilia said, squeezing his wrist. The reporter stated that the Ystad police were reported to be working in conjunction with Trelleborg police in an effort to find a common thread between the murderers in hopes of stopping this new threat before he could take anymore lives. She remarked on the station’s hearts going out to the victims in Trelleborg, and their families, as well as the survivor of Ystad’s killings.   
“Fuck you, too, sweetie,” Emilia muttered.   
Magnus flicked the TV off and set the remote on the table beside his phone.   
“Kirksten’s rotting in prison. This is all supposed to be done with. Why again?”  
“I don’t know, darling. Life is shit to us sometimes. I’d make it all disappear if I could.”  
“I know,” she gave him a weary smile. “It was a mostly rhetorical question. God, I can feel my skin crawling. Look.” She held out her right hand, trembling. “Now I get why you were so anxious sometimes before. At least then you were on the case. How the hell are we supposed to spend our days just waiting until this stops.”  
Magnus gave a small shrug. “Same as last time, but with sex.”  
Her almost retort turned into a bark of laughter. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. She nuzzled her head against his chest, then kissed his breastbone through his shirt and trailed little pecks up to his neck before Magnus brought his lips down to meet hers.   
“You could also dance for my amusement,” he smiled, pulling back.   
“Oh no, baby,” she beamed back. ‘We’re together now. We dance together.”  
And so they did, music piping from the speakers on Magnus’ phone, barely pausing when Kurt texted that he was on his way back to the hotel. Emilia was just starting to show Magnus the basic steps of six-count swing when the phone in the room rang. Magnus leaned in to kiss Emilia’s forehead, squeezing her hands gently before going to answer the call.  
When he hung up, he turned back to Emilia. “Kurt and Linda are on their way up.”

Being placed into protective custody together put less of a strain on them than either expected. Much like Magnus implied, they fell into a similar pattern of spending their days as they had during Emilia’s protection months before. Though Magnus couldn’t work on the current case, he busied himself with reexamining aspects of Kirksten’s case, feeding what he could to Kurt and being fed bits of information on the current case. When his leads were tapped for a time or he needed a distraction, he took to having parts of the station’s tech items sent to him for fixing and/or rebuilding. Emilia continued working, writing several articles and a ghost-written research paper for an academic journal. When both were tired of their work distractions, they found solace in one another. No longer having to hide their feelings, even when one of their stationed in-home sentries was present, eased some of the tensions built up in their previous similar situation.   
However, new tensions built as days turned into weeks and once again between Trelleborg and Ystad they could not trace the copycat. While Magnus did all he could to occupy his mind with other thoughts and activities when not working on tiny bits of case material, Emilia began to focus more and more on it as each day passed. Rather than pulling Magnus into her mind, she retreated more into herself, spending more time alone with her work. While she didn’t shun him, Magnus felt the strain.   
In the third week, Magnus went with two of their guards to the station. When they returned to the car to drive back to the safehouse, there was a note tucked behind the wipers. Had Kurt not been walking Magnus out, the guards may have tried to keep its contents from him. As it was Kurt noticed the note first and had it in his hands before the others could react.   
“Call the house,” he said after scanning the first two lines.  
“Kurt, what--”  
Kurt silenced Magnus with a look, then turned his gaze to one of the guards. “Do it. Now.”  
As the officer made the call, Kurt finished the note, then handed it to Magnus. He slammed his fist against the hood of the car. Magnus read, his face first paling, then starting to flush with anger.   
“She’s safe,” the officer said, snapping his mobile shut. “No activity at the house. What do we do now?”  
“Go back inside.” Kurt said.  
“No,” Magnus said firmly. “I need to get to her.”  
“He’s not after her right this moment, Magnus.” Kurt said, turning to him. “He’s after you. He won’t come inside for you.”  
“We can’t predict what he’ll do. Bring her in, too.”  
Kurt shook his head. “Not yet.” Magnus stepped forward and Kurt held up his hand. “Let me handle this. You’re not thinking clearly.”  
Magnus started to laugh. “This is ridiculous. Give me the keys. I’ll get her myself.”  
“Magnus, I understand you want her close. You want to see her to know she’s safe and watch over her, but you may not be safe together. Will you risk her safety just to be close to her?”  
Magnus’ hand flexed and Kurt put his hand down, stepping closer. “You want to hit someone. I understand that. You want to hit me? What will Emilia think of that?”  
“I have to know she’s safe. I can’t take someone else’s word for it.”  
“Then take mine,” Kurt said. “If we leave now, we could lead him right to the house. He could be baiting us, hoping we’ll go to her immediately and follow us there. They’re locking down the house. She will be safe. Right here, outside in this lot, you are not. So get inside and we’ll sort out where to go from here.”  
Magnus took a half step back, then slammed his fist onto the hood of the car near where Kurt had done the same. He turned and strode back into the station, shaking his hand out as Kurt and the other officers followed.


	5. Chapter 5

Inside the station, Magnus sat in the common area while Kurt, Lisa, two of the Trelleborg detectives, and his shadowy protection detail discussed things in Kurt’s office. He’d wanted to go into his own small office, but Lisa had nixed that idea.  
He sat there, head in hands, staring at the floor as a pair of small black pumps appeared in his vision. He shifted his gaze up, Anne-Britt holding out a cup of coffee toward him.   
“It’s not the station coffee. You had half a bag of yours tucked back in the corner.”  
“You knew about that?” He asked as she handed him the cup.   
“I keep my favorite tea behind it,” she smiled.   
Magnus tried to smile back, but all that happened was a small shrug and slightly less scowling. He took a sip of the coffee and nodded at her. “Thanks. Why aren’t you in there with them?”  
“Someone should keep an eye on you. Make sure you don’t try to sneak off to her. Also, it’s not my case.” She leaned against the desk beside him. “Not in any capacity that lets me in on conversations like this.”  
Magnus glanced up to her. “You are working it, though?”  
She nodded and he looked down again. “As they give me things. They’re keeping this close, Magnus. I think Kurt’s the only one who knows everything.”  
Magnus sat up, taking another sip of coffee. “He’s worried something will get out. Like with the press.”  
“He’s worried.”  
Magnus nodded once, then started to shake his head. “I can’t stand being here not knowing --”  
“She’s fine, Magnus. Kurt would know if she wasn’t. He loves her, too. None of us could stand it if anything happened to either of you.”  
“I know,” he said softly. “And I appreciate it. But she’s -- Is this how you feel with your husband?”  
Anne-Britt gave a small laugh. “Sometimes. It’s not easy, our marriage. But yeah, if anything like this happened… I think you’re handling it pretty well, actually.”  
“Kurt doesn’t.”  
“Kurt doesn’t always understand that other men don’t react or feel as he does, particularly where loved ones are concerned. And to be honest, Magnus, you both have some blinders where she is concerned.”  
“I don’t know how not to.” He took another swig as Anne-Britt stood again.   
“I know. When all this is over, that’s probably something you should address.”  
“If this is ever over.”  
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t think like that. We got Kirksten. We’ll get this guy. And I swear Kurt’s doing everything to make sure this guy never gets as close as Kirksten did. To either of you. And I know he’s too close for comfort right now, but we will find him. We’ll stop this, and we’ll do it so both of you stay safe.”  
Magnus was about to reply when Kurt’s office door opened. He came out, followed by Magnus’ shadows and the rest of the company. Kurt and the guards made straight for Magnus.   
“Come on,” Kurt said as he passed Magnus. Magnus rose and followed him.  
They left the station and went back to the house, taking a roundabout way with two trailing escorts to ensure they weren’t followed. As soon as Magnus walked into the kitchen, Emilia nearly jumped into his arms. He wrapped her in an embrace, kissing her head as he murmured endearments and thanks that she was alright.   
After a moment, Kurt moved them into the bedroom, trailing behind. He closed the door, then looked at them both before beginning.   
“I am sorry about this mess. Today’s already been stressful enough. But we have to talk strategy, how we proceed from here. And it might mean putting you in separate custody.”  
Emilia took Magnus’ hand. “What do they have in mind?”  
Magnus looked down at her. “No,” he stated.  
Emilia’s face tightened. “I didn’t say anything.’  
“I’m not leaving you.”  
“Kurt,” Emilia sighed. “Can you give us a minute, please?”  
Kurt glanced between them, then nodded. He left the room, closing the door softly as he left.   
Magnus took a step back from her, hands on his hips. “What happened to not leaving each other? To being there to protect each other?”  
“That’s not as important as your safety.”  
“Bullshit,” he scoffed. “This is about you shielding yourself from me.”  
“It’s not.” She hadn’t moved since before Kurt left the room, except to cast her gaze downward while Magnus admonished her. “I’m sorry you think it is. And for the record, I didn’t say we’d do it. I just wanted to know what they think they can do that might be better than this, because clearly we aren’t safe here together.”  
“God, what is this, Mia? You say you don’t want to be without me, but--”  
“I don’t,” she cut in, her voice calm but starting to tremble. “I feel safest with you close. Knowing where you are and that I can be there if you need me. I just don’t know that it’s what’s best.”  
“Mia--”  
“And can we not turn this into another conversation about me trying to pull away from you?” She snapped, finally turning to him, her face red. “This is legitimately about keeping you alive. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that. If you see that as pushing you away, then fine. We’ll deal with the ramifications of that once this is over and you’re not dead.”  
“What about you? You think I don’t want the same for you?”  
“I think you want this to be comfortable. To make as little impact on daily life as possible. Someone is trying to kill us, Magnus. Both of us. You included. You particularly right now. And this isn’t some line of duty, taking the challenges as they come, ‘this is my job and your protection is my responsibility’ thing. This is a guy hunting you, targeting you. If you lead a comfortable life with me around, you let your guard down and he could--”  
She stopped, ready to burst into tears, turning away from him. Magnus ran a hand through his hair.   
“We don’t have time for this,” she said softly. “I don’t want us to be apart, but something about this arrangement has too many vulnerabilities. We know that now. Sometimes you need people outside the situation to analyze it. That’s all I was trying to get out of Kurt. What he, and the team, think might be better.”  
“That’s all?”  
“It was. Now -- maybe it’s better all around for us to take a step back from each other. I love you, but I can’t have you thinking every time there’s a conflict that it’s me trying to get out of this relationship. That’s not what I want, and if you don’t realize that by now…”  
Her voice choked at the end. Magnus moved to sit on the edge of the bed. They remained in still silence for a moment before Magnus sighed, then patted the space beside him. “Mia, will you come here and talk to me for a minute, please?”  
She turned and moved to him, but did not look at him. He slid an arm around her and she didn’t react. He kissed the side of her head and she relaxed a little.   
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have made this about us. We do have some issues, but you’re right. We have to draw a line between our relationship and our safety. I hope you don’t really think I find this comfortable. I’m just trying not to -- I don’t know. I’m trying to keep things seeming as normal as possible because I have to compartmentalize what’s happening. Doesn’t mean I’m not aware.”  
“I know. I felt more like -- like you were so aware you’d just kind of shut it out, emotionally.”  
“Don’t think I could really do that if I tried.”  
She nodded. “I’m sorry.” She lifted her head to connect with his gaze, tears brimming in her eyes. Magnus’ fingers had just brushed along her jawline when she leaned in to meet his lips. Though chaste, there was a fervour behind the kiss, a need to try and connect to one another again.   
They broke and Magnus sighed, giving her waist a gentle squeeze. “Let’s talk to Kurt. See what they have in mind.”  
“You sure?”  
“Like you said, doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll do it, but there has to be something better. He’s getting too close, and I’m no more prepared to lose you or put you in danger than you are me. You know if anything happened to you while you were out of my sight--” He choked on his last words and Emilia turned into him, pulling him into an embrace.  
“I know.” She cradled his head as he leaned into her, kissing his neck once before releasing him.   
He eased back, sniffing, tears also brimming in his eyes.   
“Maybe after all this we should see someone, together,” she said softly.  
“Like couples counseling?”  
She nodded. “There’s stuff we need to work through that I don’t think we’re doing great with on our own. But I want us to work, and we seem to keep hitting the same walls. And we don’t have to make a decision now. Priority is our safety. But… what we have is strong, Magnus. So strong. And strength can be brittle; it can be cold. I don’t want us to be like that.”  
He shook his head, whispering, “Nor do I, darling.” She gave a small smile at his endearment. “I’ll think about it,” he said firmly. “I promise. We’ll get things right.”  
He brought her hand to his lips. “Ok?”  
She nodded. “Ok.”  
“Will you answer one more thing for me?”  
“Of course.”  
“Do you still feel safe with me?”  
“Magnus--”  
“I don’t mean as in if you feel like I can protect you. I mean... “ Tears welled in his eyes again. “I mean to say that being with you is like nothing I’ve known before, and when we were first together we talked some about how when we’re together it feels right, and I think there was a word missing there. It feels secure. I feel secure with you. In myself, and in us, and in everything. Like some hopeless romantic guiding star bullshit thing, I suppose, but it’s so much deeper than that. And I guess sometimes I’m afraid you doubt that’s how I feel about you, or that you don’t feel that for me.”  
“Magnus, I know we’ve never really talked about that night, that first night, or the days leading to it when I was -- when Kirksten had me,” she took a steadying breath, then stood, pacing the room. “Whatever we had, whatever we could have been before then, when I was just this girl you asked out at the pub one night after flirting with during a few previous encounters, whatever that might have been, who those people were… for me, it changed the minute you pulled me off that pavement. I can’t explain it, or rationalize it, but it did. Sometimes I think I might still be sitting on the pavement, in that damp alley, scraped up and terrified and unable to even speak of anything that happened to me in the days leading to that, if not for that moment. But when I felt your hand touch mine -- it was like I knew I could live again, get past it all somehow, because I felt something in you reach into me, into the darkness and the fear and just embrace me, without judgment, and with so much warmth. You saved me that night. You made me laugh again. You brought me not just safety and comfort but something that felt like normal could be a thing I could have again, and not after months of therapy but right then, with you.   
And for so long I haven’t known how to repay that, or even express it, and I don’t know that I ever can or will, but when I realized I love you I also realized it’s not about repaying anything. It’s about acknowledging that moment you touched my hand and changed my life and making sure that whatever we could have been before that moment, that what we’ve built since, and what we keep building is even better. And at times it’s been so easy, so right, and at other times, even when we’re not in danger like this, it’s not at all easy. It’s excruciatingly difficult. I know that’s life, and that’s relationships, even the strongest ones. And yes, sometimes I do retreat into myself because I wonder who that girl might be who you didn’t have to pull off the street, broken and panicked and terrified for her life, that girl you asked out when she was chatty and flirty and probably way more likable. I wonder if you might have liked her better, if she’s the one you really want and you just keep searching in me for her, and she’s not there anymore but you stick around hoping she might come back someday. And I’m terrified of what happens the day you realize she’s not coming back, she can’t, because she changed into someone else that night. And I wonder if she would have been better for you, if someday you’ll find someone else who’s more like her and-- and--”  
She was nearly gasping for breath now, holding back a flood of tears. Magnus rose and threw his arms around her, cradling her against his chest, kissing her head a dozen times before tilting her chin up to meet his teary gaze. “Emilia, I didn’t know that girl. I knew she was sexy and flirty and could be fun, and I knew there was some spark of connection between us that drew me in, something that was more than just attraction. I wanted to know her. And then, yes, she was taken and she changed, and the woman who came through it, the woman who let me help her off the pavement, who trusted me to watch over her after enduring such trauma, who did all she could to make me feel at home in her home, who came to love me in that insane situation as I fell almost instantly in love with her, the woman here right now, she is more than I could ever desire or ask for. I love you, all of you, without judgment or expectation, and with no desire to find that girl I asked out inside you, or anywhere. You’re right, she’s not you anymore, but I don’t want anyone who isn’t. And darling, for the record, you are still sexy and flirty and fun, but you are also so, so much more. And if it takes a bit of separation from one another, or counseling together, or a couples retreat in the middle of nowhere, or any combination of that to get us to see our love as equal, and good for one another, then we’ll do it. We’ll do whatever it takes.”  
“I’m sorry,” Emilia said softly, tears starting to ebb. “I’m sorry I held that in for so long, that now in the midst of all this is when -- I wanted to tell you, but it never seemed right to just say it.”  
“It’s alright,” he soothed. He leaned down to kiss her.   
When their lips connected, a spark ignited again. Emilia wrapped her arms around him and pulled them close. In a moment of swelling intimacy, they were back on the bed, Emilia straddling his legs as he sat up, running his hands along her back, through her hair. She clasped his face in her hands and ran her fingers along his jaw and through his hair. Their chests pressed together, hearts pounding against one another.   
“I need you, Magnus,” she murmured between kisses.   
“I need you too, darling,” he replied, still soothing.   
She pulled back to look at him. “No. I mean, I do, but that’s not what I meant.” She gave a little rock to her hips, her jeans sliding along his growing bulge, to emphasize her meaning.  
“Kurt’s here. He could come in at any moment. Plus the guards.”  
“Ask me if I care.”  
“Mia,” he sighed. “You know how much I desire you. And you know I’m not opposed to a little risk taking, but we really, really shouldn’t right now.”  
She closed her eyes, defeated, and he kissed her forehead. “I shouldn’t have said--”  
“You should have” he interjected. “You always should.”   
She looked to him again and he tucked a section of hair back behind her ear.   
“And if we need to be separated for a bit, to keep safe or whatever, I’m not letting you go without being inside you again, or hearing you scream my name in pleasure. I need that, too.” He kissed her, relaying his desire and compassion for her without words. “I need you in every way, my darling. Never doubt that.”  
“Same,” she said with a soft smile, then returned his kiss. When they broke, she sighed again. “So does this mean we’re ready to talk to Kurt about what the options are?”  
He nodded. “Yeah. I think so. Just don’t expect me to be happy if we have to be separated, even if it is for the best.”  
“It’s not what I want either, but I want you safe more than anything right now.”  
“Understood. And same,” he smiled before they kissed again, and then got themselves presentable for Kurt and the guards. Before leaving the room, they took a deep breath each, and Magnus took her hand as he reached for the door with the other.  
“Magnus,” she said just before his hand closed over the door. He paused. “I do feel secure with you. As panicked as I get sometimes thinking you’ll see something beyond, something better than us, I don’t ever doubt how I feel for you. And what I feel is so overwhelming and consuming and wonderfully passionate, it does scare me sometimes. But it’s that security I feel between us that keeps me grounded and dedicated to doing whatever I can to keep us together.”  
He looked down at her and smiled. “Thank you.”


	6. Chapter 6

Magnus lay on his side, watching Emilia sleep beside him. He glanced at the clock. In two hours the sun would be up and she would be moved away from him. His fingers ran along her cheek and she stirred, but did not wake. He blinked back tears, then kissed her forehead.   
Again she stirred and shifted closer to him, her hand sliding up from his hip around his back.   
“Go back to sleep, darling,” he whispered.   
She shook her head, nuzzling it against his shoulder. Her lips pressed to his collarbone. “You woke me up.” She pulled back to look at him. “I’m yours now.”  
He smiled before kissing her. “Only now?”  
Her fingers drifted back to his hip, then lower, giving his ass a squeeze. “We are going to have really fantastic phone sex while we’re apart.”  
“Please don’t use that word.”  
She shifted her other arm from behind her head and ruffled his hair. “It’s happening, my love. And it’s only temporary.”  
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw his expression fall. She kissed him. “Temporary separation. Like one of us is going on a business trip.”  
“Only it isn’t--”  
She kissed him again. “We’re not doing this again. We’re safer as moving targets, separate moving targets.”  
“I don’t like thinking of you as a target.”  
“Fine. Poor choice of analogy.” She ran her fingers along his hip. “Why don’t you let me distract you from all this one more time.”  
In an instant she had shifted them so she was on top of him. In a minute he was moaning her name softly as she worked him with her mouth, and within an hour they were once again entangled on their sides, sweaty and sated.   
“We should shower,” she murmured as Magnus continued kissing her neck, his hands having never stopped touching her through their lovemaking. He hummed his reply and a few minutes later the spray of hot water brought him rocketing back to reality. Still, his hands never left her, but now his caresses were even more intimate, not physically, but as though he were making a map of her body with his hands, memorizing each curve and mark.   
Once dressed, Emilia’s alarm went off on her phone a moment later.   
She sighed as she flicked it off. When she looked back to Magnus, tears had welled in her eyes. He pulled her into his arms.   
“I’m sorry I’m not stronger for this, darling.”  
“We’re as strong as we can be,” she sniffed. “And that has to be enough for now.”  
He kissed the top of her head, then tilted her chin up to bring their lips together. When a door knock came a few minutes later, they said their private goodbyes before leaving the house and giving public show of their farewells. Magnus held his tears in until arriving at his new flat, finding its fitness center and punching a bag until his hands hurt. He sank to his knees and cried for a moment, fists balled at his sides, before forcing himself to his feet and back to the small one bedroom for a shower. Emilia didn’t cry until after they spoke on the phone that night, letting her tears and exhaustion pull her into an uneasy sleep.   
Three days passed before they were moved again, then again after four more days. Each night they spoke for a few minutes to an hour. True to her prediction, one night their small talk quickly transitioned into words of longing that turned into intense phone sex. The next night, Emilia brought up the topic of a counselor again and after some time to consider, Magnus agreed. After ten days, each in their third safe house since being separated, Magnus called her that night and there was no answer. He left her a message, then texted her.   
An hour passed, and no response. He sent her an email, thinking she might be working late, saying his goodnight with a few cheeky lines. At 3am, his phone rang. He reached for it, and in his grogginess knocked it off the night stand. By the time he picked it up, it had stopped ringing. He looked at the screen and his heart jumped into his throat. The phone blinked with a voicemail notice but he ignored it and called back the last number.   
“Kurt, what is it?”  
“Magnus,” he said, and even through the phone Magnus registered the pain and fear in Kurt’s voice. “It’s Emilia.”


	7. Chapter 7

“No,” Magnus breathed. It felt as though cotton was instantly stuffed in his ears as Kurt continued. She was gone, missing, along with her detail. Magnus’ head began to pound. They had received a threatening call at the station and decided to move her. They checked in at the new location, but when Kurt called Mia to check up in the evening, nothing. Then no response from the guards. Kurt went over himself with two officers and found the house empty. Mia’s luggage was there, still packed, and the car parked in the drive. Magnus took all this in while his mind went through dozens of scenarios. As Kurt went on about the search efforts Magnus slid down the wall until he collapsed on the floor.   
“Kurt, stop.” There was a pause on the line. “How do we get her back?”  
There was another pause.  
“Kurt?”  
“He’s demanded an exchange.”  
“Me for her?”  
“Yes.”  
“Then what are we waiting for?” Magnus hauled himself off the floor.   
“If we send you, it’s likely he’ll kill you both.”  
“He can try,” Magnus snarled.  
“Magnus,” Kurt sighed. “We have to think rationally.”  
“Rationally?” Magnus spit. “This isn’t some standard kidnapping case, Kurt. This is my girlfriend, your niece. This is Emilia’s life!”  
“You think I don’t know that!” Kurt exclaimed with a fury Magnus had never heard in his tone. There was a beat before he continued, quiet, but with little of the rage quelled. “I want her back. I want her safe. But if we save her and something happens to you she will kill me, and I don’t even believe that’s an exaggeration. We have to be smarter than him. He knows you’ll want to save her.”  
“I don’t care about smarter. I care about her being alive.” He heard a car door slam outside the house and stumbled toward the bedroom door.   
“That impulse will get you killed. I can’t have that.”  
The line went dead and the front door opened. Magnus stepped out of his room and went down the hall. Kurt had already passed the two guards and made straight for Magnus. He pushed Magnus back against a wall, holding him there with his forearm.   
“He claims to have killed her guards. If it’s true, then he’s now killed two more than Kirksten, and you or Emilia or both are next unless we do this intelligently.”  
Magnus swallowed down his rage. “What’s your plan?”  
“We go, but not together. We’ve already had the meeting place scouted. It’s at the train yard. Likely he’s keeping her in one of the cars near the spot. There are two snipers ready, along with a squad. Whatever happens, he’s not getting out of this.”  
“And how do you and I play in?”  
“I’m not handing you over to him, not ever. Certainly not even playing at it until I know Mia is safe. I go, seemingly alone, unarmed, whatever it takes to get him to bring her out. He agrees, she’s alive, we take him down.”  
“And if she isn’t?” The words were just above a whisper. Magnus feared giving breath to them as much as either feared contemplating them.   
Kurt sighed, releasing Magnus. “As I said. Whatever happens, he doesn’t get out of this.”  
Magnus nodded. “And what am I supposed to do?”  
“Hide. Wait it out. If it comes to it, we’ll bring you out. If it doesn’t--”  
“If I see him,” Magnus cut in, “I will kill him.”  
There was a beat as they exchanged looks. Kurt slipped a glock out from his jacket, and placed it in Magnus’ hand. “I don’t want to have to explain how you got this, so don’t use it unless you must.”  
Magnus slipped it into the band of his jeans against his back. “Kurt--”  
“Don’t. Just… She wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. Including having an unwarranted death on your hands. Keep that in mind.”  
Magnus nodded. Outside, he was briefed on procedure he already knew for going into an exchange/rescue op. In his mind, all he thought of was her until the time came to shut out everything but his surroundings, waiting for the moment when action would be needed.   
Settled in place between several empty cars, a hundred yards back from the meeting location, Magnus crouched down. He reached back and pulled out the glock, keeping the safety on. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Kurt’s voice entered his ear.   
“I’m approaching my position. Anyone see him?”  
Negatives came from three voices, the two snipers and the op commander. A few seconds later, one of them returned. “Someone’s coming down between cars twenty yards ahead of you, Wallander. On your left.”  
“Just one?” Kurt asked quietly.  
“Yes.”  
“Anything on the thermals?”  
“Four signatures, all almost equidistant from one another in cars to your left. He’s smart.”  
“He’s a dick,” Magnus muttered.   
“A calculating dick,” Kurt countered, reminding Magnus his feed was live.   
The commander went over instructions to move in on each of the possible holding containers when the time was right. By the time he finished, the approaching figure was almost to Kurt. The head of a tall, thin, middle-aged man popped out between two cars, turned to notice Kurt, then dipped back. Kurt stepped forward a few steps.   
“He’s doubling back to move closer,” the commander said. “Stay where you are, Kurt.”  
Kurt paused. A moment later, the man reappeared, now only two cars down from Kurt.   
“Hello,” he smiled at Kurt. “Pleasant day, isn’t it?”  
“Where is she?” Kurt spat.  
“Close enough. Where’s the boy?”  
“He’s no boy, and he’s close enough as well. You don’t see him until I see my niece.”  
The man’s smile faded. “Playing the family card. Would you have done that with my predecessor?”  
“No,” Kurt replied. “You’re special. That’s what you want to hear, isn’t it?”  
“Careful. You’ll wound my vanity.”  
“Where is she.” Kurt’s request shaded into a command and the man smiled again.   
“How do I know the boy is here?”  
“He is. And if he isn’t, you get me. Not your plan for following in Kirksten’s footsteps, I know, but you won’t find better to hurt her before continuing whatever it is you intend to follow through with.”  
The man considered, scuffing his feet on the dusty ground. “Bring her out.”  
“Watch for move-- Kurt, one of the figures is moving. It’s out of the car. It’s coming your way -- wait, no. It’s headed for another car.”  
This rang in Kurt’s ears as he stepped toward the man, keeping up the conversation. “She’s safe?”  
The man nodded.   
“You said ‘bring her out.’ Who’s with her?”  
His smile returned. “You’re not the only one with surprises.”  
“First contact has reached the southwest car and the figure inside is moving to it. Snipers stand by.”  
“He’s got a partner,” Magnus breathed.   
“Possibly,” the commander replied.   
Meanwhile, Kurt kept making small talk with the tall man, hoping to glean something from him, some detail about how he intended this to go down.  
“You’re not great at this,” the man said, still smiling. “You’re better when you’re direct.”  
“What do you intend to do to my niece?”  
“Nothing at this point if you play along. Once you have her back and I have the boy, he’ll get what Kirksten intended. We’ll make sure she sees that before we come for her again. And that time, no exchanges.”  
Magnus’ hand twitched on the gun and he flicked the safety off. He recalled being at Kirksten’s mercy, the knife at his throat as Emilia watched. He absentmindedly rubbed his neck as he swallowed, pushing away the memory. As he did, Kirksten’s voice faded in his head, threatening to make Magnus watch him rape Mia before killing them. Magnus’ hand trembled, and he took a breath to steady himself. His mind rocketed back to the task at hand as the commander’s voice came in his ear.   
“They’re almost there, Wallander. Anyone have eyes?”  
As the ‘no’s came in, Magnus heard Kurt breathe her name. He resisted leaping to his feet, digging his fingers into the palm of his gunless hand.   
“See?” Her kidnapper said, “she’s fine.”  
“Target has accomplice. Secondary target has the package at knife point. Do not engage yet.”  
“Let her go,” Kurt said firmly.   
“Ah, now that isn’t part of the deal. I showed you mine. Now you show me yours.”  
Magnus rose, ready to step forward.   
“He’s not here.”   
Magnus froze. Kurt meanwhile, had stepped forward, hands raised, toward Emilia’s abductors.   
“Look, I tried. It was hard enough getting anyone to agree to using me as a substitute, but I insisted. I outrank him, and I’m family.”  
“Kurt, no,” Emilia choked. He glanced briefly to her. She had marks on her neck and her left cheek was well bruised. Aside from her hair being mussed and not having shoes on, she appeared physically intact. Though with the black sweatpants and hoodie she wore, he couldn’t be certain. The accomplice, a younger man in his, Kurt assumed, early twenties, gripped Emilia around the waist, a knife poised at her throat.   
“Please,” Kurt pleaded. “Take me. Just let her go.”  
“You know we’ll come after her again,” the younger man said in a raspy voice.   
Kurt nodded. “What matters is getting her safe, now. Please.”  
The two men exchanged a look. The older man looked back to Kurt and gestured him forward. Kurt took a step.   
“Wait,” the older man said. “Show me you’re unarmed.”  
Kurt turned all the way around slowly, lifting his shirt to show he had no arms tucked in his pants. He took another step forward.   
“Kurt, don’t,” Emilia said.   
“All that matters is your safety,” he said firmly. “To me, and to Magnus.”  
“Stop,” the older man said, and Kurt obeyed. He gestured to his accomplice. “Pat him down. Make sure.”  
The younger man went to hand Emilia off. As he released her, she dropped to the ground.


	8. Chapter 8

Barely had the commander said, “Package is down,” before Magnus popped out of his hiding place, gun ready. A shot rang out as he fired at the older man, hitting him in the back. The man spun around, Magnus striding toward the group, firing another shot into his abdomen. The man dropped. His partner in a rage, Emilia seemingly forgotten for a second, rushed with his knife for Kurt. Another shot rang out as one of the snipers hit the younger man, dropping him instantly.   
Magnus was now running for Emilia, reaching her just after Kurt. He ripped his earpiece out as the commander began giving orders to converge on the main targets and find out who belonged to the other heat signatures.   
Kurt and Magnus knelt by Emilia. She shook visibly and Magnus scooped her into his arms.   
“Mia,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “Mia, darling, are you alright?”  
She released a sob and tucked herself against him.   
“Emilia,” Kurt said firmly. “Are you hurt?”  
“Not much,” she said, her voice broken.   
“What did they do to you?” Magnus’ voice broke as well, and Kurt moved closer.   
As Kurt was about to question her further, three members of the team arrived along with the medic. Magnus set Emilia back on the ground and let the medic examine her, keeping a hold on one of her hands as she was looked over. The medic looked to Kurt.   
“Mostly bruises and scrapes, though one of her ribs might be broken and she’s got some abdominal pain. She should go to the hospital.”  
“I’ll go with her,” Magnus interjected.   
“We’ll both go,” Kurt replied.   
The medic gestured to the other men. Within five minutes Emilia was on a stretcher, Magnus and Kurt keeping behind the medic to the ambulance. Magnus and Kurt rode in Kurt’s car as the other heat signatures in the compartments belonged to her guards, one of whom had a concussion and went to the hospital in the patrol car. The other rode with Emilia, having suffered definite broken ribs, a possibly broken jaw, and a nasty, deep cut to his right arm.  
At the hospital, Kurt and Magnus waited while Emilia was examined. Word was brought that she needed to go into surgery for a lower abdomen wound that, while not life threatening, needed tending to immediately. When the doctor came out two hours later, they both approached him. He looked to Kurt first.   
“You’re the uncle?” Kurt nodded. “She asked to see you first. Alone.”  
Kurt looked to Magnus and placed a hand on his shoulder.   
“Will she be alright?” Magnus asked.  
The doctor nodded. “After a while, yes. She’ll be fine.”  
Kurt left them and went to see Emilia. Magnus paced the waiting room until he came back.   
“Well?”  
Kurt sighed. “She’ll be alright. She’s -- she’s been through a lot, Magnus. She’s desperate to see you, just -- just please don’t interrogate her about it all. Just be there for her.”  
Magnus nodded. “Whatever she needs.”  
Kurt directed Magnus to her room. He had to stop himself from running down the hall to her. She lay in the hospital bed, propped up with pillows and sipping water. She swallowed and he could tell it hurt her. Tears welled in his eyes and he blinked them back as he approached. She looked at him, and a small smile crossed her face.   
“Hello, darling,” he said softly. He came up beside the bed and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. “Ready for a vacation yet?”  
Her smile broadened just before her tears fell. He leaned down and kissed her head.   
“I’m so sorry, Mia. For all of this. For not protecting you. For not being there. I am so, so sorry.”  
“Stop,” she managed with a broken sob. “Please. Just -- be here now.”  
He bent lower, shifting to look at her face to face, gently cupping her chin. He kissed her once, brief and soft. “I am here. I’m not going anywhere. Tell me what I can do to heal this.”  
“They wanted to kill you,” she said, her voice trembling though the tears subsided. “It was almost secondary to me. I thought if I ran they might refocus on me, keep you out of it. But they -- Magnus, I should have told you before.”  
“Told me what?” He quickly dragged a chair to her bedside and sat down, again clasping her hand in his.   
Emilia shifted in the bed, pulling her gown up to just below her breasts. There was a small line of stitches along her lower abdomen. He hissed with an intake of breath.   
“It’s not bad,” Emilia said, tucking the gown back beneath her blanket. “Should be healed within a week or two. It’s only--”  
Magnus waited, fingers gently rubbing over the back of her hand.   
“I should have said something before. I didn’t know how. I’ve never been with someone I thought it could matter to until you, and now -- I’m not on birth control. I never have been.”  
“Mia, what does that have to do with--”  
“I had appendicitis when I was sixteen. I was camping and thought it was really bad cramps, but then -- by the time I got to the hospital my appendix was ready to burst. Afterward, some scar tissue fused some things together and they told me it would be next to impossible to ever conceive. That hasn’t changed in any exam I’ve had since then, until now. Where they hit me -- how he did it -- that’s why they had to operate. I’ll never--” she broke off, dropping her head as the sobs overtook her again.   
Magnus let her cry for a moment, continuing to run his fingers along her hand. “Emilia,” he said softly. “Are you going to be alright? I mean, once the stitches come out, is there any danger of infection or something worse?”  
She shook her head. “Not really. Antibiotics and wound care should--”  
“Then that’s all I care about,” he cut in.   
She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes searching his for any sign of a lie or doubt.   
“I mean it, Mia. Whatever is in the future, all that matters to me is you, safe and whole and--” he swallowed back the lump in his throat. “And mine.”


	9. Chapter 9

Emilia was released from the hospital three days later, and recovered in just under two weeks. After a brief inquiry, Magnus was returned to active duty about the same time Mia fully healed, physically at least. The older of Emilia’s abductors, and the facilitator of the plans so his partner said, died hours after Magnus shot him. The younger one was hit in the back, the bullet going straight through, missing his heart but puncturing a lung. He was in the hospital for over a month, then transferred to a prison infirmary awaiting trial.

Around that time, Emilia and Magnus began to see a counselor, individually for their trauma as well as together. For several weeks they saw little of one another aside from their sessions, but as Magnus’ birthday drew near, he made an effort to see Emilia after work most nights.

One evening, after work and following a tense counseling session regarding their past relationships, Magnus made dinner at Emilia’s home. He called up to her, supposedly in her office doing some work, to let her know it was ready. After two calls and no response, he tramped upstairs.

She wasn’t in her office, but sat on the edge of her bed, her expression a flurry of emotion as she stared at the blank wall a few feet from the door. Magnus leaned in the doorway. “Darling, there’s food ready. If you want.”

“Why didn’t you tell me until today’s session that you and Katrina were engaged?”

He started to reply, then closed his mouth and walked over to her. He sat beside her on the bed. “I know we’re supposed to talk some things out between sessions but--”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

He sighed. “Because it never should have happened. Because she asked me and I was too stupid to say no at first, when I should have. And because she’s out of my life and I like keeping her that way.”

Emilia shifted a bit, pulling a note out from beneath where she sat. She handed it to him.

He took it and scanned it, his jaw clenching. “Where did you get this?”

“Went to pick up laundry at your place this morning. It was taped to the door.”

Magnus scanned the letter again.

_Hey Mags -_

_Been a while, I know. Would have liked to say hi in person, but didn’t want to hang around your door all night. With your birthday coming, I just thought we could get a drink. Catch up and talk. I miss your face and your silly hair and so much more. I’ll stop by again soon._

_xx Trina_

“Bitch,” he whispered. He looked back to Emilia. “I’ll take care of this. I’m sorry.”

“Like you took care of not getting engaged to her?”

“Mia, please. None of this is -- I mean it. I was stupid and naive. I may still be stupid sometimes, but not that much. And not where you and I are concerned. She’s done this when she gets lonely.”

“You’ve told me that much. Makes more sense now why.”

“Mia, she is not worth us fighting. She doesn’t rate that.”

“Your not infrequent accusations of me hiding from you make more sense now, too. Displacement’s a nasty game.”

“This is not a game,” he tried.

“You’re fucking right it’s not.” She stood up and left the room.

Magnus sat for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. A few loud sniffs echoed upstairs and he hung his head. “Damnit,” he sighed, standing and going downstairs.

Emilia leaned against the counter, crying, looking at the dinner he’d prepared sitting across from her.

“You’ve taught me far more than how to make a couple decent meals,” he attempted as he entered the kitchen. “But I’m still learning. And I’m sorry I’m so slow at certain things. I should have told you. Like some things it never seemed the right time. It isn’t important to me now, to the person I’ve tried to be since I left her, so I kept it to myself. It’s hard to know how to parcel out the past with you because no one’s ever mattered to me like you have, and I’m not big on opening up about my past. But this -- I get that this was something big. It is something big. Probably should have mentioned it a lot sooner. But I mean it when I say she’s not worth whatever is stirring in you aside from being pissed at me for holding this back.”

“You think I’m jealous of her?”

“I think you’re rightfully angry with me for not telling you all the details of how my relationship with her ended. Failed engagement is -- not something I ever thought I’d have, and not something I ever want again, and thus not something I’m keen talking about unless there’s actual marriage talk happening. Wherever we’re headed together, it would have become part of a later conversation and you’d likely have gotten mad at me then for not saying anything for so long. I see that now.” He leaned against the fridge. “But Katrina and I -- honestly, stupid is the best word I have for the entire mess we called a relationship. I put her in the past because that’s where I want her to stay. Going through this counseling stuff with you, I know it’s not always that easy, but that doesn’t always stop me from trying to make it that easy, and for that I am truly sorry. Now,” he said, shifting forward and picking up a plate. “I’m going to sit out on the patio and have some dinner. I would love for you to join me, but I understand if you don’t want to. I can only apologize so much, so if there’s something else I can do, let me know.”

He left her, going to the back patio and easing into a chair facing away from the house. He picked at the salmon salad as Emilia paced in the kitchen. She stabbed her own salad and took a bite, then another. After a sigh, she grabbed her plate and a bottle of wine from the fridge and went outside.

She sat down across from him, setting the bottle down with a gentle thud. “I’m still pissed,” she said. “But the food’s good. Well done on that.”

Magnus nodded his thanks as he chewed a chunk of salmon.

“How pushy do I sound if I ask how you intend to deal with her now?”

“Not very,” he replied. He picked up the wine bottle and cracked the cap off. “No glasses?”

Emilia shrugged. Magnus took a swig from the bottle and set it back on the table. Emilia reached for it and did the same.

“If she doesn’t catch me at home soon, she’ll call. She seems to have ways of getting my number. In either case, I’ll tell her the truth.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t want to catch up. I don’t miss her at all. And I know she gets lonely, but it’s well past time she stops coming to me between other failed relationships. Not the least of reasons is because I’m madly in love with someone else and I will not have her mucking that up by showing up as the worst representation of the ghosts of girlfriends past.”

Emilia took another swig of wine. “Harsh.”

“Considering what I went through with her, and what it’s doing to us right now, not really.”

“Any other former fiancees in your history?”

“None. Not even close.” The respondent question hung in the air, but with a look Magnus knew the answer and so did not ask.

They ate a few more bites in silence before Emila sat back in her chair. “I hate fighting with you, you know.”

“So do I. There is one good part to it.”

“If you say the make up sex--”

“No. OK, well two good parts, then. But that’s not what I meant.”

She swiped the wine off the table and bounced it in her lap, then raised an eyebrow at him.

“When we’ve forgiven each other, reconciled or whatever, it means we’ve gone over another hurdle together. The more we conquer, the easier it gets to keep going forward together. And also, you get this look for a bit like you’re never going to let me go and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Tears welled in Emilia’s eyes as he spoke and she tried to sniff them away but a few fell on her cheeks. “You are such a romantic asshole.”

Magnus smiled. “You did once tell me maybe I should be a poet.”

“Shut up and come kiss me,” she said.

Magnus was out of his chair and crouched beside her in a flash. He clasped her neck in his hand and kissed her, longing and need surging through him. “I love you,” he whispered as his lips drifted to her neck. “My darling Mia.”

When he pulled back to look at her, he saw the look he had just described and without further word carried her inside and upstairs to show his affection worthy of her forgiveness.

Katrina did turn up at his door, two days later while he was taking an extended lunch break with Mia. Despite her pleading for reconciliation, he set her straight on his current status (110% unavailable from now until hell froze over, if not longer) and that if she showed up unannounced again he’d arrest her on the spot for trespassing. Though his tone and words were never insulting or overly harsh, Mia felt just the tiniest bit sorry for the tall, leggy, blonde he’d once been engaged to, even if it was only for a couple weeks.

He’d told Mia everything about that former relationship within the week that followed these events and she detailed some of her exes, their cheating habits and her penchant for choosing men who understood little about true intimacy and less about her. Their discussions caused a few more minor arguments, but their bond -- both physical and emotional, continued to bring them back together in short order. By the time his birthday weekend approached a few weeks later, they had both finished counseling and neither had ever felt more secure in a relationship before.

 

 


End file.
